Associated Press: ‘We do not see AI as a replacement of journalists in any way’

The AP have released their AI guidance at the agency – they have allowed PAN to republish this in full:

Standards around generative AI – by Amanda Barrett Vice President for Standards and Inclusion, AP.

Accuracy, fairness and speed are the guiding values for AP’s news report, and we believe the mindful use of artificial intelligence can serve these values and over time improve how we work.

However, the central role of the AP journalist – gathering, evaluating and ordering facts into news stories, video, photography and audio for our members and customers – will not change. We do not see AI as a replacement of journalists in any way.

It is the responsibility of AP journalists to be accountable for the accuracy and fairness of the information we share. 

As always, our journalism follows AP’s Statement of News Values and Principles. We have also developed guidance for using generative artificial intelligence, including how and when it should be used: 

• AP has a licensing agreement with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, and while AP staff may experiment with ChatGPT with caution, they do not use it to create publishable content.
• Any output from a generative AI tool should be treated as unvetted source material. AP staff must apply their editorial judgment and AP’s sourcing standards when considering any information for publication.
• In accordance with our standards, we do not alter any elements of our photos, video or audio. Therefore, we do not allow the use of generative AI to add or subtract any elements.
• We will refrain from transmitting any AI-generated images that are suspected or proven to be false depictions of reality. However, if an AI-generated illustration or work of art is the subject of a news story, it may be used as long as it clearly labeled as such in the caption.
• We urge staff to not put confidential or sensitive information into AI tools.
• We also encourage journalists to exercise due caution and diligence to ensure material coming into AP from other sources is also free of AI-generated content.
• Generative AI makes it even easier for people to intentionally spread mis- and disinformation through altered words, photos, video or audio, including content that may have no signs of alteration, appearing realistic and authentic. To avoid using such content inadvertently, journalists should exercise the same caution and skepticism they would normally, including trying to identify the source of the original content, doing a reverse image search to help verify an image’s origin, and checking for reports with similar content from trusted media. 

If journalists have any doubt at all about the authenticity of the material, they should not use it.